Apparatus for making ingots.



E- HOWARD. APPARATUS FOR MAKING INGU'LS.

APPLIUATION FILED NOV. 21, mm

P 'en'teti Mar. 10, 1914.

3 SHEETS-$111231 1.

L. BCHOWARD." APPARATUS'FOR MAKING INGOTS. APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 21, 1913.

Patented Mar. 10, I914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

flwwesaela,

L. E. HOWARD APPABATUS FOR MAKING INGOTS. APPLIOATION III-ED'NOV. 21, 1913.

Patented Mar. 10, 1914.

a SHEETS-SHEET a.

UNITED STATES I PATENT orrron.

LESLIE E. HOWARD, OF LOCKPOBT, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 SIMONDS MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, CHUSETTS.

0F FITGHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- APPARATUS FOR MAKING moors.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 10, 1914:.

Original application filed May 7, 1913, Serial No. 766,095. Divided and this application filed November 21, 1913. Serial No. 802,194.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Lnsmn E. HOWARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lockport, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Making Ingots.

This invention relates to the art of manufacturing metal ingots, being designed chiefly for use in the manufacture of steel ingots. I

In my Letters Patent No. 1,056,101, dated March 18, 1913, I have disclosed an ingot casting and compression machine wherein-a two-part, separable ingot mold is located directly above and in vertical alinement with the compression die to receive the molten charge poured therein, and means are provided for opening the mold after the ingot has reached the state of partial solidification and lowering the partially cooled ingot therefrom directly into an underlying compression die. In a companion application filed Nov. 19, 1913, Serial No. 801,788, I have disclosed an apparatus employing the same compression die, but substituting for the special mold shown in said patent an ordinary one-piece mold adapted to receive a pour at a point more or less remote from the compression die, with means for bodily shifting the mold and contained ingot to. a positiondirectly above the die for the lowering of the partially cooled ingot from the former into the latter.

The apparatus of my present invention employs a compressiondie of the same character as that disclosed in my aforesaid patcut and co-pending application; but includes a portable mold-support, such as a car, on which an ordinary one piece mold may receive a pour of metal at a point more or less remote from the compression die, which car and mold may be transferred to a position directly beneath the die, and means located beneath the track-way of the car and in substantial axial alinement with the die whereby the partially cooled ingot may be bodily raised out of the mold andinto the die for compression; thereby adopting the broad mode of operation disclosed in my patent aforesaid to use inmills Where the ingots are cast on a car in a casting pit.

The apparatus of my present invention is excellently adapted to the carrying out of a novel and useful operation in processes of manufacture wherein the metal is first poured and partially cooled in a mold, and then transferred from the mold to a compression die to receive lateral compression.

lVhere a tapered mold is used in carrying out my present invention it is positioned on the car or other mold-support with its Wide end up; and by employing a compression die with parallel walls, the greatest compresslon is received at the upper or wide end of the ingot, so that the resulting compressed ingot has ap roximately parallel, instead of tapering, si es. This effects a decided advantage in eliminating the defect known as piping, by reason of squeezing in the top-end of the ingot under a pressure which is graduated from top to bottom of the ingot corresponding in a general way with the location of the pipe.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustratedone practical form of apparatus in which the invention may be embodied and practised, and referring thereto- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, in cross'section through the ingot car track and underlying pit containing the power cylinder and ram for forcing the ingot out of the mold and into the die; showing a car andingot-mold locked thereon movable to a position directly beneath the die. Fig. 2 is a similar View, showing the ingot partially raised from the mold into the die. Fig. 3 is a top plan view' of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, I will first briefly describe the ingot press, which is a substantial duplicate of that shown in my Patent No. 1,056,101, equipped with a single pair of die blocks, in lieu of the two shown in said patent.

5 designates each of a pair of parallel side frame members of the press,

6 an interlocking end frame member, and 7 a cylinder cast ing constituting the other end frame memwithin the cylinder chambers 8 are rams or plungers 12, the outer faces of which abut against a cross-head 13 that is supported on the head hooks 31 engaging grooves 32 formed in the and between the side members 5 of the pressspectively, that 'unitedly form the substantial rectangular cavity of the die; the walls of the latter, as herein shown, being thus all parallel with the axis of the die and vertical throughout. The die-member 15 is loosely connected to the cross-head 13 so as to be retracted by the latter by a pair of links 21.

Fluid pressure is supplied to and exhausted from the cylinder chambers 8 through a cored duct 22 in the casting 7 and the pipe 23 leading from a valve 24 through which lat ter the pipe 23 is alternately connected with a pressure supply pipe 25 and an exhaust pipe 26. The cross-head 13 is retracted by a power mechanism comprising a cylinder 27 secured to the outer face of the inner wall casting 7, a plunger 28 in said cylinder, a cross-head 29 on the outer end of saidplunger, and pull-bars 30 that are connected at their outer ends to the ends of said crossand at their inner ends formed with opposite sides of the cross-head 13. A branch pressure fluid supply pipe 33 leads from the supply pipe 25 to the inner end of cylinder 27, whereby the cross-head 13 is normally maintained fully retracted and the compressing die open; the cross-section of plunger 28 being so small relatively to the cross-sections of the rams 12 as to make it practically inexpedient to equip the cylinder 27 with -fiuid pressure controlling valves.

The compression die formed and equipped substantially as above described, is mounted on any suitable substructure or support (not shown) a suitable distance above a pit 34 that may connect with or form'an extension of the ordinary casting pit. pit 34 is a railway track 35, on which is adapted to travel a portable mold-support herein shown asthe ordinary ingot-car 36. This car is, however, preferably modified to the extent of including lugs or stop-pieces 37 which serve to properly center thereon a tapered mold 38, and links 39 pivotally mounted thereon and adapted to engage at their upper ends lateral lugs 40 on the mold to hold the latter down under the stripping action hereinafter described. The bottom V of the mold 38 has a tapered o ening-41 adapted tobe closed by a tapere plug 42; and in line with the opening. 41 is an open have formed in their opposite faces V-shaped recesses 19 and 20, re-

Straddling the ing 43 through the platform of the car to accommodate the lifting ram hereinafter described.

Within the pit 34 and in substantial axial alinement with the compression die is rigidly secured a power cylinder 44 containing the piston or head 45 of the ram 46. The cylinder 44 connects at its upper and lower ends with fluid pressure pipes 47 and 48, re-. spectively, each of which serves alternately to supply and exhaust fluid pressure to and from the cylinder from supply and exhaust pipes 49 and 50, respectively, through a controlling valve 51; this latter being capable of being turned to an intermediate position in which all of the pipes 47, 48, 49 and 50 are blanked, so as to confine a body of liquid in the cylinder 44 and hold the ram elevated until the twomembers of the die have secured a good hold upon the ingot.

In preferred practice several presses would be arranged side by side with a unit spacing from center to center of the diiferent presses, and ingot. cars of the general type shown would be provided of such proportions that, when coupled up in a train, their unit spacing would coincide with that of the presses, so that when a string of cars carrying oneor more molds each are movedby any form of tractor under the presses, the

center lines of the molds and the center lines of the compressing dies are in approximate axial alinement. In practising the invention, the cars carrying the molds are "moved to the casting pit and the molds filled in theusual manner by any form of ladle which happens to be in use. After pouring is completed, the cars are moved beneath the presses and arrested at points so that the ingot-molds are directly beneath the'dies. The valve 51 controlling the pit-cylinder is then turned to the position shown in Big. 2, causing the ram 46 to ascend into contact with the plug 42 and by its further ascent to push the partly, cooled ingot out of the mold and up into the compressing die, the mold itself being restrained from ascending with the ingot by the holdin links 39. The'controlling valve 51 1s he d open only Ion enough to permitthe 1ngot to ascend to t e roper pos tion 111 the compression die, w ereupon it is then turned to blank position, thus holding the ram in its elevated position. The compressing die is now brought into action to efiect the lateral compression of the artly cooled ingot in the manner described in my aforesald patent. As soon as the die has obtained a good firm grip-on the ingot so that it can--' not drop throu hinto the pit, the car, of

course,-may be rawn away, leaving the pit free.

After compression isfinished the ingot may be removed from the die" b either of two. approved methods, one of w ich would consist in again applying pressure to the pit cylinder so as to bring the ram into contact with the ingot. The valve 24 would then be turned to connect the cylinders 8 with the discharge pipe 26, allowing the re-; tracting cylinder 27 to open the die, leaving the ingot loose in the latter.,- Pressure would then again be applied to the pit cylinder and the ingot at once raised therefrom out of the die to enable the soaking-pit tongs carried by a soaking-pit crane to grasp the top of the ingotand carry. it either to the soaking-pit or to a stock pile, as desired. The other method of taking care of the compressed ingot would be to run an ingot car under the press and then allow the ingot to drop through the die onto this car by gravity only, the car then removing the ingot to "an desired place of disposal.

i he die members are preferably made with parallel side walls so that the lateral pressure is applied in a direction at rightangles to the axis of the ingot and, as above stated, the compression efi'ect extends from a maximum at the up er wide end of the ingot in a graduated egree to a minimum at ornear the lower end of the ingot. This effects a desirable distribution and condensing of the fluid interior of the ingot that considerabl facilitates the avoidance of the piping efect.

I do not herein claim the novel method of o eration herein disclosed, since that forms t e subject-matter of a co-pending applicais a division.

tion filed by me on the 7th dayof Ma 1913, Serial No. lie

66,095, of which this app ation I claim-- gots comprising, in combination, a compression die for imparting lateral compression to an ingot, a portable mold-support, a mold resting on sand mold-su port to receive a pour of metal, said mol support and mold ei'ng movableto and from aposition directly beneath said die, and mgm s located said die.

beneath said die for raising a partially plooled ingot out of said mold and into said 2. An apparatus -for manufacturing. ingots comprising, in combination, a compression die for imparting lateral compression to an ingot, a portable mold-support, a tapered mold resting on said mold-support with its wide end up to receive a pour of metal, said mold-support and mold being movable to and from a position directly beneath said die, and means located beneath said die for raising a partially cooled ingot out of said mold and into said die.

3. An apparatus for manufacturing ingots comprising, in combination, a compression die for imparting lateral compression to an ingot, a pit located beneath said die, a track spanning said pit, a car on said track, an ingot-mold resting on said car, means for locking the mold to the car, and a power cylinder and ram located in said pit beneath and in substantial axial alinement, with said die and adapted to force a partially cooled ingot upwardly out of said mold and into said die. l

4:. An apparatus for making ingots, comrising, in combination, a compression the or imparting lateral compression to an m-- got, a pit located beneath said die, a track spanning said pit, a car on saidtrack, a tapered ingot-mold resting on said car with its wide end up to receive a pour of metal, means for positioning the lower end of said mold on the platform of lsaid car, means for locking said mold against vertical movement relatively to said car, and a power cylinder and ram located in said pit beneath and in substantial axial alinement with said die and adapted to force a partially cooled ingot upwardly out of said mold and into LESLIE E. HOWARD.- Witnesses:

WILLIAM G. CARTER, FRANK H. SHAEFFER. 

